My brother’s keeper

I looked to the left of the gas station and saw the man. I thought he was part of the lawn mowing crew that was cleaning the property. He looked like he might have passed out in the sun. I knocked on the car window to let my wife know, I was thinking that we were going to need to call 911. 

When I looked closer, though, I realized he wasn’t part of the crew and he wasn’t in medical need, he was homeless. His jeans looked smeared with dirt, and he was lying on a long piece of cardboard with his hands over his face, trying to keep the glare of he sun out of his eyes. 

I couldn’t help but shake my head at the irony of the situation. A few minutes earlier, we were in an elegant Florida hotel. Everything was sparkling and baby-fresh clean. We had a concierge at our beck and call. We slept in a warm bed, with air conditioning set at approximately 68 degrees. Before leaving to come back home, we celebrated with an overpriced, overcooked breakfast.

I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure the man had none of those extravagances.  

The United States Council on Homelessness estimates that there are over half a million people in the U.S. experiencing homelessness, living in temporary shelter or transitional housing or in places not meant for habitation, like abandoned buildings. They list out the top four causes of homelessness as the lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, and low wages.

While the numbers give some context, homelessness and poverty exist everywhere — big towns, rural vistas, and everywhere in between. The small-town kid in me though is still surprised when I see homelessness and wealth in such striking contrasts, right next to each other. 

I thought about the man as we boarded our plane to head back home. I was still thinking about him when the passenger in front of me was complaining because she didn’t like the choice of crackers and soda that the flight attendant offered and the man I suspect wasn’t even sure when he might eat again.

When I got home, I made an extra year-end contribution to a local agency that helps fight homelessness, but there’s no moral to this story. I don’t have a funny punch line or a solution that solves everything and wraps it up in tidy bow. With Christmas coming in a few days, my blog is just a call for us all to do better to help our neighbors.

I like to think that we’re all God’s children and deserving of being treated with dignity and respect. Whether you’re religious or not, we all deserve better.